She said when young Nigerians have access to information on their fertility status, they would not patronise quacks for abortion, thereby removing poor abortion, pelvic inflammatory infections, damages to the uterus due to intake of harmful mixture and indiscriminate use of antibiotics, before reproductive life starts.

“If young girls, especially, are encouraged to seek information on ways to prevent infertility, we won’t be having the high prevalence we notice in the country. Simple things our young girls and boys do can matter in their reproductive life later in life. For instance, many girls wash their vaginal area with soap. They douche, believing that’s the way to keep their vagina clean and fresh. But, what they are actually doing is aiding infection because as they wash, they are losing their vaginal PH and acidity. It is the acid content around the vaginal surface that fights diseases. Such women need to know the natural way to keep the flora of the female organ. As little as this information, it can prevent infertility in the future,’’ she explained.

But, what do all these have to do with having a baby? A lot, she said.

Ailoje said most women only become aware and concerned about their reproductive health when they are sexually active – to prevent pregnancy. But the choices made as teens and into adulthood could have negative effects on their ability to get pregnant.

“With proper information and awareness, we can work towards preventing several causes of infertility. Lifelink Fertility Centre is a fertility clinic run by women for women, and a women and children’s hospital. It is about taking care of the health of women by women. We offer chances of getting pregnant within the shortest possible period, paying attention to details and we pride ourselves in giving personalised treatments to women.

“The centre has been in operation for about a year. We are bringing in individualised treatment using state-of-the-art equipment. It is high tech, and everything that has to do with IVF and ART is there. A woman that comes in with any form of reproductive health issues will be seen by the reproductive endocrinologists,” Ailoje assured.

But the centre is really for women, she explained. “Of course we attend to men as well. You cannot treat a woman outside of men. We see women and children, but men are also attended to. There are males that need much more than reproductive endocrinologists and they need to be seen by urologists. For the men, their infertility could be exospermia (no sperm) or oligospermia (low sperm). This can be linked to genetic factors, lifestyle modification, heavy smoking, alcohol, age, and occupation.”

Ailoje said a man’s ducts might be blocked or had his testes injured; or there may be sperm issues and would need to be properly treated. “If he needs a specialist, he would be asked to one. We are making it fully individualised, how people can fit into their system, how they want it. The difference is that we are not pooling patients to buy equipment. We have the equipment to meet the services of people who are in need of it.”

She is leading the team of reproductive endocrinologists, and bringing her decades of experience as a fertility and IVF specialist, practising physician, and UN-trained counsellor to bear.

On affordability, she said although the facilities are expensive, the procedure is affordable. “You may be 28 or 30 – walk into the fertility centre and say you want your eggs preserved while awaiting Mr Right or until you are ready to have your babies. You just want to become what you want to become. It is about encouraging people to preserve, start or enlarge their families. That is my invisible logo is: Preserving your fertility or starting or enlarging the family.

“We have all our state-of-the-art machines and facilities. That is because we want to provide quality care for couples. So, for those who truly are unable to afford it, we have also set up a foundation to vet them and select those that should be assisted. We have done IVF for a vulcaniser who is married to a tailor. Even if the vulcaniser repairs 180 million tyres, he may not be able to raise the money, that is the truth. Our foundation vets those who want free IV and offer it to them,” she said.

‘’Lifelink Fertility Cente is about setting up a trend for young people so they know their fertility status. That is the difference here. We are not going to wait until somebody is 43, and then you get a husband or when you do not have a husband and you’re trying to get a baby. We are bringing in young people aged 18-25, to come and talk about fertility, toilet infections, condoms, etc. There is free consultation for that group. There is a proposed plan to launch the Fertilink Profile, which promises free services on adolescent reproductive health and sexuality education.

“For those aged 26-35, they would want to know their status; at this age, they are thinking of settling down, and concerned about the health of their fallopian tubes. They need maternal health check. And for those aged 35 and above, the women walk into the clinic and know what they want and you help them achieve it. They can pay for it. They want to do a health check but by the time when fertility might have declined considerably.”

On infertility, Ailoje is thinking outside the box. She is attending to women problems. “We are trying to partner an institution that is interested in preserving the fertility of women, particularly career women in business,” she added.